DrCR Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 My nephew is about to turn 2yo but I'm already thinking about getting him snowboarding. Got to wait 'til he turns 5yo though. Should I start him out in softies or HBs? What kind if gear is out there for little kids? Just testing the waters. I've got three years to get a setup together lol. :D Also, I'm going to be teaching my kid sister how to snowboard. I'll probably just get her on rental softy gear for now, but I'd naturally like get her started on HBs. Any recommendations on gear? Mondo22, 105lbs. Looking for something for a more relazed, cruising style, all mountainish, and able to take the eastcoast ice and beat-up hardpack. She won't be looking to do 4G turns or anything like that. Thanks for any ideas/recommendations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Sounds to me like you're rushing things. Reminds me of some ambitious dads I know who rushed their kids into golf or hockey and ended up regretting it. Usually, if a kid gets pushed into something he/she is not ready for, it totally backfires. Teaching a 5 year old to snowboard is very difficult. Teaching him in hard boots is a guaranteed disaster. Get him comfortable on snow first. That means skis. Much, much easier for a little kid to handle. Then move to the snowboard but don't expect him to start carving. For your sister, can't really say if she's ready since you don't state her age. But, finding boots in that size is going to be a challenge onto itself. Lots of threads here on teaching kids to board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrCR Posted October 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Well yeah, if he's not ready at 5, then he's not ready. Um, so based on what your saying I should go with a ski setup. That's the kind of insight I was looking for. Thanks for the recommendation. Looking for gear though, what kind of alpine gear is out there for little guys? All I know of is Donek's new kid boards. Yeah, finding boot for 23cm (M22 I assume) feet may be hard. But it will always be difficult since that's as big as her feet are going to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 I had a hard time finding anything small and light enough for my 12 year old. After much searching, I found a used, custom 151 Prior WCR. I never did see a board under 150cm. In the 150 range, you will find a lot of new, old stock Oxygens (from the days when Atomic liquidated their stock). Check eBay for those. There are also the odd Burton FPs in 153-ish length. If you're well financed, I'm sure Chris Prior or Bruce Varsava will build you a custom board. Checking the Bomber Store, I see that the LeMans is available in mondo 22 so you might be in luck with your sister. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex1230 Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 Klug has a FP 135 for sale on his site, fyi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 As far as 5 yo.'s are concerned, I would teach them skiing. I have taught well into the 100's of 6 and unders both on skis and snowboards. When my children reach five, they will already be skiing, but I will not be encouraging them to snowboard. If, for some reason, they really want to do it, I may make an exception. All of that being said, if you are definitely going to teach a 5 to ride, do it in ski boots. A five year old's proximal-distal development is just not there yet (with a few exceptions). They can articulate their ankle, but without real control. Therefore, a ski boot will let them "cheat" on a board by using gross body movements. As for your kid sister, I am guessing that at 105 lbs., she is becoming a young lady. Her body will soon be almost fully mature. You have to be the judge of this. If she is into hardboots and you can find them, great. If you cannot find them, maybe you would like to try a very soft (gasp) ski boot. You may also want to consider a more formidable FR board to start on. That will be more forgiving and easier to find. If she really starts laying it over, then you can go to an alpine board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncermak Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 donek pilot for your sister... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carvedog Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 I have taught hundreds of groms to snowboard as well and Phil is right on about not pushing things. I did have a five year old who started at three (not pushed by dad) who could ollie two feet, was the fastest and youngest in the class and still did not have a toe turn. Children develop from the head out. Fine finger and arm movements come before fine toe and leg movements. I did have a two and half year old who desperately wanted to be like older brother on snowboard. So we put the ski boots in free style bindings and I ran backwards down the hill for a half an hour catching the kid every twenty feet or so as speed, terrain warranted. No turns were made. The kid had a ball. Was it snowboarding?? In some sense yes and no. Parents were happy. Kid was ecstatic and I walked away with a nice tip. :o . You can introduce younger kids to the idea of snowboarding and have them work on things in the off season ( a carpeted living room as an example) like just standing up from the heelside. I do this with adults too. If they can do it on a flat floor its easy on a slope. So if you feel like the youngster is ready. Start slow, no expectations, keep it fun and leave them wanting more. Best, Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Randy S. Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 If you really want to get kids started early, soft ski boots are great for teaching. My daughter has used them the past couple years (she turned 8 in August). Last year she was finally really ready to turn and ride more. This year should be interesting. I have a small pair of Raichles, but she may stay in her ski boots. My son's ski boots are too stiff for snowboarding so he uses the raichles. You should be able to find a pair of bindings if you watch the classifieds that will handle small ski boots. I have a pair of Drake bindings I got from someone in PNW last year cheap. Flimsy burton bindings would work with ski boots too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marz Posted October 24, 2005 Report Share Posted October 24, 2005 You don't have to wait. BUT you do need lots of time & patience. My daughter's been on skis since 18mo. & on a snowboard since 2yo. The key is to make it FUN . If you haven't noticed, their attention span is a wee bit short. We spent lots of time sliding around/playing on the family room carpet. After 10-15 min. when she was ready to move on to something else that was ok. The key is the stuff is there to play with whenever & however long they feel like. When you have snow you can go outside, walk, slide, step skis around, etc. When they want to go inside, go in even if it's only been 5 min. By 2 my daughter was able to put on/ take off her boots, skis, snowboard. We would go to the local area just so she could watch, get a feel for the sights & sounds, MAYBE walk & slide if she felt like it. At 2 1/2 we were on the bunny slopes, sometimes for only 15 min. A couple times by the time we got there, she changed her mind & we went home TIME, PATIENCE & . It pays off though, last year at 3 1/2yo she could ski any where we wanted to & would usually last most of the day. Snowboarding she can skate on the flats & was starting to make direction changes riding down hill tethered. Many times we'd have to drag her off the hill :D ! This year she's already psyched about sliding! Hope to go out West with her at end of season. Equipment: She's used Nordica Nordy boots. If you can find them on Ebay, they're great because they allow ankle flex to develop better balance, unlike the typical kids rear entry boots. They also work well with her Burton Chopper 99 & junior plates, no need to change boots when she wants to play on her board. Remember limited attention span ;) . Skis, anything cheap, short (chest/ chin high), with binding is fine to play with. Once you start sliding down a ski hill it's time to invest in as shaped ski as you can find, SCX etc. Kids will quickly figure out when they press on that outside ski in a power wedge, they start to turn. After that, LOOK OUT! Toward the end of the season I got her some jr. Overlap boots, the pencil lines she was leaving with her outside ski blew my mind . I'll try her with step in softies this year on her board. now that her feet are big enough to fit in size 1 K2/Rossi stepins. The piece of equipment that helped the most was tethering her at boot/binding level, instead of the waist/chest harness, Hula Hoop, Bamboo/Ski pole. Once they're ready to slide down hill, VERY GENTLE terrain is key. When used for speed control, the harness/hoop/pole pulls/pushes their center of mass back, off balance. Whereas if you run a loop around each boot or binding heelpiece, you can control speed & direction without pulling 'em of balance. It works to pull 'em around on the Flats, in the yard, & even back uphill when they first start sliding short distances downhill. Works great for the snowboard too, looped through the back binding. Good Luck & Have FUN!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar(angel Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 I started my son on ski's at age 3, snowboard at age 6, alpine at age 8. He's now 10 and currently rides a Burton FP 135cm with F2 step-in's and Raichle 225's (see pic). His current rig cost $240.00 total (board from Klug=$100.00,boots from Bomber=$50.00,bindings from Blue Tomato=$89.00) His first alpine board was an old Rossi Accelerator 136cm with Burton carrier bindings and his sisters old ski boots (see pic) that rig cost $45.00 total (board from ebay=$20.00, bindings from ebay=$25.00, boots=free) So in my experience it's not too early to start you son/daughter on alpine gear given they have been in softies and can turn both ways, stop, etc. Zach was bombing runs on his soft set-up at 7 years old after only one season on a freeride board so I figured why wait? Wether or not me being on an alpine set-up 90% of the time while teaching him helped in anyway, we may never know. I plan on starting his 11 year old sister this year on an alpine rig, now that she's gotten the freeride set-up down, and we've already got all the equipment neccessary. If you look hard enough, gear is out there and if you're patient enough you can teach them to ride just about anything. If you ever need any help with gear, don't hesitate to get ahold of me and I'd be glad to help you out, Have fun, Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrCR Posted October 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 Thanks for all the input guys! I may end up reviving this thread later on with a few more questions later lol. I'll probably go the route of getting my sister started in softies and then moving from there. As for my nephew, I've got total consent from my brother-in-law...he wants to start him mountaineering at 3yo anyway lol. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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